Monday, May 25, 2009

The natives were getting restless...

Hello! How are you?! I've missed you!! Thank you so much for all of your kind, sweet, touching well wishes that you left for us in my last entry. What sweet gems! Again, you all made me laugh and cry! I'd been toying with coming back, and after a handful of sweet "I'm waiting for your next post..." emails and then after reading my friend Margaret's from Virginia Beach recent charming, touching comment I knew it was time!

In all the trauma in finishing the remodel of the farmhouse and the move, I think I naively thought we would move in and immediately unpack all the boxes, and then I would come back to show you completely decorated rooms. Well, just so you know... that's not happening!! The reality is that up until three days ago we still had not opened one single box! As I mentioned in the last post, when we were moving in, the kitchen was still being painted. That little project took a good two and a half weeks. Then, painters informed me that I should wait at least a week before putting anything on the freshly painted shelves, which of course they painted last. Then, it took those two plus weeks to get my finish carpenter back to the house to build our master closet. Then we had to get the painters, who had moved on to other jobs, back to paint the closet which again took a good week. Without the kitchen and the master closet we had no where to unpack into as all of the rooms were crammed with boxes. And since the barn room (which would have been my "family room" from the old house) isn't completed all those boxes are in the mix as well. The master closet is finally complete and is wonderful!! Pictures to follow in a day or two... promise!

We are now finally rested after the move and feel in sync with the house. But, it took a while. At first it was a bit like when you get a new car, and as much as you wanted and love the new car it just doesn't feel like yours. At the end of last week we finally got all the workers out of the house and that has made a huge difference. We have also informed our GC that his services are no longer needed, and he has removed all of his belongings (and his bad energy) from the property. We will act as our own GC to finish the barn room, and paint the exterior of the house. It is so wonderful to have all of them gone.

As of three days ago, we are finally unpacking boxes and it is like Christmas... it's like opening 200 boxes and getting everything you really, really wanted! I must admit that I spent a good many hours after moving in just staring at the stacks of boxes in each room wondering how in the world did I have so much stuff?! And, how did I have so many "Shells" that were written on so many boxes? Finally, after mustering my courage (with the help of a glass of wine;) I cut a "shell" box open to find one fragile piece of white coral that was the only thing in the box! Whewww! After opening more and more boxes like that I realized that my wonderful Dallas movers had packed many items in their own individual box to keep them safe!! (If you live in Dallas and need an amazing moving company contact I.E.D.S. They are a family run business- the owner and his crew personally drove all of our belongings to New Hampshire last year and then flew back to Dallas. I have not found one single thing broken in any of boxes we've unpacked. I can not say enough wonderful things about them!)

Since I have now realized that my naive thought of immediately posting decorated rooms isn't happening for a while, I thought I will share with you the unpacking process! Usually I wait and post a series of photos that (hopefully) tell a story, but for a while I'll just post a photo or two of things we've unpacked and tell their story. Having been an antiques dealer everything in our house has a story, and while I promise not to bore you with them all, I will share the fun ones!!

This first photo has items from the first couple of boxes we unpacked and randomly placed on the mantle. When I looked up and noticed the grouping I realized how perfectly these few items so completely exemplify my design style, so I've decided to share it with you:

I love birds (you'll see more birds along the way!) and was given this initial pair by my mother as a Christmas present years ago. She still had two pairs. I really wanted another bird. I explained to her how objects (flowers, etc.) are better in odd numbers and after several attempts convinced her to break up one of her pairs and give an extra one to me! (Hi Mama! Thank you!) Don't you agree that three is better than two?!

The oil painting is antique Dutch that I purchased about 16 years ago at an estate sale in Portland, Oregon where we lived at the time. I was just learning antiques and had a gut feeling that this was a good antique piece (for all my knowledge at the time it could have been a print, but I decided to trust my gut.) I think I paid about $125 which was a fortune for us at the time. We've since had it appraised and it is indeed a good old piece!!

The piece of hotel silver on the old books is from the Gunter hotel in San Antonio. I grew up in SA, so it is a special piece for me from our collection. In our last house I kept it filled with river stones picked up from a stream in the Tetons in Wyoming. I grew up going to the Grand Tetons with my parents and the Tetons are very near and dear to my heart.

The blue and white antique temple jar is one of a pair. I collected blue and white Chinese ginger jars for many years, and then along the way I grew tired of them. Sometime last year my love for them was renewed, and I am so happy to see them all again!

19 comments:

Yey, you're back Joan! Just one perfect photo and it's setting the tone! Your treasures are beautiful. Can't wait to hear all your stories. Thank you for your constant support over at 'mud central'! A-M xx

Hey Girl...glad you found your way out of the packing paper to say hello! I missed you! And now that the paint is dry, I imagine you'll be working at warp speed. But take your time.Settle in slowly. This is your forever house...you have all the time in the world!

I stumbled upon your blog a few weeks before you moved in- I love it! I've been able to patiently await your return by starting at the beginning of your journey....and pacing myself! Imagine my smile when I clicked today and you were back.

Love your grouping and the meaning behind it- and cannot wait for the rooms to take shape.

Enjoy the time it takes to continue making this your home- I will look forward to your wonderful updates!

So glad to read your current post. Do not worry - people just like to hear what is happening now and your house will eventually be all put together and just beautiful, I am sure!! Did you get my comment about Park Cities?

Yippie! You're back!It was so much fun to watch the house take shape, I'm sure the unpacking process will be great to see as well. Someone passed a little tip on to me a few years ago about painted shelves - since they take quite a while to cure I was told to line them with wax paper, now I do that all the time - it helps when you really need to put things away...I leave it there for a month or more.

Welcome back Joan(&Dan) from another of your Aussie groupies! Delighted to hear all is coming along nicely & that your Removal Company were so fab to pack all your treasures so lovingly, what gems they are.

Thanks for your lovely comment over @ The Hedge today about our old house. Yes, it was a wonderful home & even though we're very happy where we are & the exciting challenges ahead, that house will always hold a part of us forever. The new Owners were the neighbours of my lovely work colleague (Adelaide is one small City!) & he tells me they are totally enamoured with the house & are they & their young family are very, very happy. So that's the best outcome we could ever ask for. Looking forward to keeping up with your progress - at your pace of course!Millie ^_^

Carolyn- I loved your comment! Thank you so much- and thank you for being here; so glad you found us!

Anon I- I am so touched you have enjoyed our progress! Thanks for being here too!

Ann- Yes, got the PC info! Thanks! Reply coming back to you soon I promise!

Shelly- Hi! I LOVED the wax paper tip- thank you sooooo much! I'm a wax paper girl, so this is perfect! I just found some unbleached wax paper along with some wax bags!! Love the bags, I remember them from when I was a little girl! I was so excited!

Millie- Hi! I love all the new lingo I pick up from my new Aussie friends! I've never heard "Removal company", but love it! I loved your story about knowing who now lives in your old house and knowing how much they too love it. That makes all the difference in the world doesn't it?!

I missed you and checked often to see if you were settling in and enjoying your beautiful old home. I'm very happy to see you back blogging and look forward to following along as you unpack, finish the home & yard and just enjoy the NE lifestyle.

I love your closet & that great door. Glad to hear y'all are settling in and to see the progress! I can't wait to keep checking back. Allisonp.s. While he thought the closet was great and laughed out loud at my ooohhs and aahhhs, Forest wants to know how the garage turned out. Men...whatcha gonna do???

Welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment; you have no idea how much your comments inspire me to keep writing- I appreciate each and every one. Comments are moderated by me prior to publishing on the blog, so if you don't see your comment post immediately it will be posted as soon as I receive it and read it. joan

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"when every corner speaks of possibility I know that I am home." -unknown-

Twelve years ago I could not have even pointed out New Hampshire on a map, but here we are! Nine years ago, after living for 15 years in the beehive that is Dallas, Dan and I finally escaped and landed in a very small town in New Hampshire that doesn't even have a traffic light. Perfection! Our move was a huge risk, but it has paid off with dividends and we absolutely love it here. I think we are really Yankees at heart. If you've never been to New England I cannot describe it with adequate words, you really just have to experience it. It is like no other part of the country. Its beauty matches our beloved Colorado, Oregon, and Washington and its spirit (Live Free or Die) is reminiscent of Texas, and the people... well, we have found them to be most genuine. In essence... we feel as if we have arrived home!

the living room

the kitchen

the dining room

the reading room

the master bedroom

the master bath

the North guest room

the South guest room

the guest bath

the barn room

the summer barn room

the barn half bath

the barn mud room

With the eyes to see it and the hands to create it, we can recover the home that the soul desires.
-A. Lawlor-

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fortheloveofahouse@comcast.net

my paint and stain colors:

It's a house with rooms that reflect a place, a feeling, a memory of the past.-unknown-

Simplicity-Making your life a creative work of art. A great piece of art is composed not just of what is in the final piece, but equally important, what is not. It is the discipline to discard what does not fit- to cut out what might have already cost days or even years of effort.